A.  If you have a question fill in the form opposite and we will answer the question as appropriate. In order to keep the competition fair to other entrants all answers will be published along with the questions asked.

A.  Thales is interested in many technologies.  However, this competition is only for laser technology and applications.

A.  Entries must come from an individual, and prizes will be awarded to individual entrants. If a group, whether within a department, within a university, or from more than one university, wishes to collaborate on an entry, then they can arrange to do so among themselves and that is perfectly acceptable. However, for the purposes of the competition, the entry will be treated as an individual entry from the named person on the entry form.

A.  We use the best wavelength for the job! General considerations are the size, weight, and power consumption of the laser. For remote sensing, we usually need a wavelength in an atmospheric transmission band. Eye safety considerations are a factor for wavelength selection. For target designators, the laser has to be compatible with the detectors on a range of munitions in typical coalition operations.

A.  All of the submissions must be in the same format - ie the competition entry form - so that they can be judged on an equal basis, so there will be no presentations.

A.  Entries must describe an idea in the field of laser technology that is relevant to Thales Optronics' business.  We are looking for technology to enable new types of product or to improve existing products.  In the case of new product ideas, we would be most interested where these are in areas such as security and defence where we have established business.  We are interested in ideas for using laser technology across all of our product areas, not just in our laser-based products such as rangefinders and designators.

A.  We are interested in business opportunities in applications of atmospheric monitoring.

A.  The competition entries will be sent to the Secretary of the Judging Panel and will be distributed to the judges in Thales and Scottish Enterprise. They will be treated as Commercial in Confidence within those organisations, and will not be shown to anyone outside of those organisations. In particular, competition entries will not be accessible to the public via the competition website.

A.  The judging criterion on "relevance to our business" refers only to the Thales business in Scotland. We may ask entrants if they wish to be put in contact with other parts of the Thales business in cases where we see opportunities for collaboration.